As mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 3,852,582, issued Dec. 3, 1974 to Ross Lowell, proper lighting is of the greatest importance in professional photography, with respect to still pictures, television, and motion pictures, and the quantity and quality of the lighting are equally important. Mood or dramatic effects are dependent upon the light source, its size, its angle, and control devices. While well-equipped studios usually are provided with a variety of light equipment, including luminaires, control devices and mounting means, these tend to be cumbersome as they usually have only a single function. However, when a photographer must take still or motion picture "interiors" away from a studio, a problem is presented due to the necessity of transporting heavy and bulky lighting equipment to frequently distant or inaccessible locations.
In many situations, and depending upon the subject being photographed, either for still pictures, television or moving pictures, it may be required to illuminate the subject with either a concentrated "hard" or spot light or with a diffused "soft" or flood light, and in many instances both types of lighting must be used in a particular sequence of pictures. This does not present too much of a problem in studio work, but, on location work, a problem is presented in that the photographer must exchange a hard or spot light luminaire for a soft or flood light luminaire, either when hand-held or when mounted on a suitable support. Such interchange requires considerable time, which is of importance when it is considered that the speed of set-up is important, because of crew size and expense, as well as the impatience of personalities being photographed and inflexible schedules. Furthermore, it is usually necessary to use various photographic accessories, such as reflectors, barn doors, umbrellas, gels, and the like with both flood lights and spot lights, which again present a considerable problem to a photographer working at location away from a studio as well as a photographer working in a studio. As a result, there has been a long-felt need for an efficient spot light and flood light arrangement which can be easily transported, is versatile, and is readily adaptable to existing conditions at a chosen location, as well as a long-felt need for such a lighting equipment or lighting arrangement which can be readily used with conventional power supplies usually provided in photographic work and which has a great deal of flexibility with respect to the arrangement of the various components in order to provide full control for dramatic lighting, soft lighting or a variety of other effects.